Nurseries and garden stores commonly prepare shrub and tree plant stock for sale by enclosing the root structure and surrounding earth in burlap. The burlap is wrapped around the earth which envelops the roots when the plant is dug from the ground to be prepared for sale. This facilitates movement of the plant from place to place without loss of earth and minimizes disturbance and exposure of the root system. The resulting product is commonly called a "balled and burlaped" plant, or a "B & B" plant.
Newly dug plants which are formed into burlap-covered balls require a healing-in process to minimize root damage. If the roots are not kept moist, the plants will not experience normal recovery from the shock of transplanting. When the roots become dry, the plants are likely to die later, after sold and planted, from their exposed and weakened condition.
In practice, however, the balled plants are often initially placed on a hard surface, for example concrete or gravel, and the nursery or garden center attempts to keep them moist by sprinkling systems. Sellers do not usually keep the balled plants healed-in in earthen holes or protected for display purposes. Placing plants on concrete surfaces does not prevent the plant ball from losing moisture or protect the plant from the natural drying out or desiccation process which occurs when the earthen ball is continuously exposed to the air and to the sun.
Attempts to add moisture to the plant have limited effect, as the water runs off the burlap onto the flat surface below, where it is not retained. Rain is not captured; it runs off. The burlap provides little, if any, insulation. More often than not, the earthen ball becomes hard, impervious to water absorption, and the root system is damaged.
When sellers of plants display the balled plants on concrete or asphalt surfaces, where they are more conveniently surveyed by their customers, the vigor and life of the plant becomes endangered. The flat non-earthen concrete or asphalt surface is hot and has a tendency to cause damage to the root system. Due to the hot surface and the tendency of sprinkling water to run off, the root systems are often damaged to the point that the plant cannot recover after it is planted by a customer. As a result, the nurseryman and garden store owner often suffers losses of plants after the plants are sold by way of guarantee replacement losses.
In addition, when plants are dug from the ground and transplanted and enclosed in burlap, the form of the ball is normally somewhat conical in shape, with the top of the earthen ball having a larger diameter than the bottom of the earthen ball. The bottom of the ball is usually truncated, but round. With the rounded and sometimes irregular surface of the ball, the plants tip or lean over and cannot be displayed properly in an upright position, especially when exposed to a strong windstorm.
In the evolution of the nursery-garden store business, field grown plants have given way to totally pot grown plants. Biologically, field grown plants in soil are often superior to the artificial soil mixes of pot grown plants, except for common, easy to grow plants. Field grown plants are hardier, disease resistant and they are more drought tolerant. To aid the use of natural grown plants instead of artificially and hydroponically grown plants, there is a need for a balled plant receptacle which would facilitate the care and display of the plants grown by natural methods. It would encourage field growing of many species in order to afford a better survival rate over the totally artificially fertilized and artificially grown methods.
An erect, healthy plant, sitting on an attractive receptacle base has a cared-for, superior appearance and consequently is more saleable. In addition, the cost of a balled plant receptacle is much less than a plastic pot for a comparable plant.